#2: Using Data to Inform Teaching and Learning

Welcome back, everybody! Today we’ll be looking at how data can be used by educators to inform teaching and learning. To help us understand this topic, we’ll be breaking it down into four separate questions:

1. How should data from assessments be used to inform teaching and learning?
2. How should data be shared with parents?
3. How should teachers use data to inform their teaching practices?
4. What does it look like when assessment is used effectively?

How should data from assessments be used to inform teaching and learning?

Data from assessments should have a direct impact on teaching. Teachers should be able to use the data from an assessment to see the strengths and weaknesses individual students had on the skills being assessed. This allows a teacher to make a more specialized learning experience for students. From the data, teachers can group students according to need and reteach the different skills to the students who need it. In general, this can be done using small, flexible groupings of students. With more specific attention paid to their individual needs, students should see improvements.

How should data be shared with parents?

Data with parents needs to be shared carefully. Educators have made great strides lately to welcome and include parents into their child’s educational choices. First and first most, when communicating data to parents, it’s important to remember that this is their child, the center of their world. We need to communicate more than just the data; instead, we are talking about a person.

It’s also important to remember that the education world comes with its own jargon. I think that it’s important to not only share the data, but also explain what the data means. Break down the academic vocabulary and acronyms so that parents can make an informed choice about their child’s academic experience.

How should teachers use data to inform their teaching practices?

One important point to make here is that data can be more than just numbers and test results. As teachers, we also collect qualitative data which could be observations and notes that we make. I like to think of most data as formative because it helps me form my next lesson. By looking at what my students do and do not know according to the data, I can adjust my teaching practices to better serve my students. Maybe that means I have to reteach a concept in a different way. Maybe instead of whole group lessons, I use learning stations. Maybe a struggling student needs to be put into an even smaller flexible group. A teacher should never look at the data and go, “well darn, I guess the kids just didn’t get it. Time to move on!”

What does it look like when assessment is used effectively?

An effective assessment is both reliable and valid. A reliable assessment means that we should expect consistent results according to the student’s true ability. There should not be a huge range in how they score from day-to-day (and if there is, that’s a good sign that something is going on with either your student or your assessment!). A valid assessment actually measures the skills it means to measure. In other words, if a student is being tested on science concepts, they shouldn’t lose points for spelling (because this isn’t a spelling test).

An effective assessment is also something that can be done quickly, but gives valuable, accurate feedback that can be used to inform teaching and learning (see above). We shouldn’t give an assessment just because we are at the end of the unit. An effective assessment actually assesses what we taught and hope the students learned. And as I have stated above, an assessment is not “the end.” Instead, an effective assessment guides our next steps in the classroom.

Conclusion

Wow! Again, a lot of information. But don’t worry, you can do this! The big thing to remember is that we are trying to help our students grow. Data shows us what our students need. From there, we can use our experience, best practices, colleagues, and literacy coach to help us figure out the best way to help our students. Data also lets us know if what we are trying is helpful, or if we need to change course and try something else. By keeping the students’ best interests as our goal, we can help them to grow.

References

Vogt, M., Shearer, B. A., & Vogt, M. (2019). Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World: Fourth Edition (4th ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.